Method of playing a game by a plurality of remote game participants

ABSTRACT

A method of playing a game that has a number of rounds of game play where the method includes playing a first level of game play that includes a first plurality of rounds of the game where the first plurality of rounds includes a first stage, a second stage and a third stage where each stage is assigned one of a telephone number&#39;s area code, narrower geographic code or line number, each of the first plurality of game rounds narrowing the number of players remaining in the game based on the remote players&#39; telephone numbers, playing a second level of game play that includes a plurality of players calling the television game wherein each of the plurality of players has a caller identification number that qualifies each of the plurality of players from the first level of game play and a second plurality of rounds of the game, each of the second plurality of game rounds narrowing the number of players remaining in the game and where each of the second plurality of game rounds having risk regarding winning prizes, and determining whether each player remaining in the game after each of the second plurality of rounds of the game has elected to play the next round of the second plurality of game rounds or to exit the game with their accumulated prizes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to games of chance having alarge number of participants, and more particularly to a game presentedon television wherein the game players may be remote from the site atwhich the game is played.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Games of chance presented via the medium of television or via computernetworks, including telephone networks, have grown over the years. Suchgames of chance may be played at web sites on the Internet by aplurality of players in different countries. Another type of such a gameof chance is the lottery. Many players purchase one or more tickets fromauthorized ticket sales agents, and drawings for winners areperiodically held using the broadcast medium of television. Such gamesare also somewhat progressive in nature in that if a ticket holder doesnot win a large jackpot they can win one of a plurality of smallerprizes. Lottery games of the latter type with a wider number of winnersincrease player interest and player participation beyond games having asingle winner.

There are other types of games of chance that are played using themedium of television. These include the well known quiz shows and gameshows. Many of these quiz shows have a progressive jackpot that growslarger after each successive question is answered correctly. However,each successive question is typically harder than previous questions.Participants can elect to take their winnings and cease playing at anypoint in the game. Such quiz shows typically draw large audiences. Thesequiz shows create interest because observers at television setssometimes know answers to questions the game show participants do notknow. In addition, in one popular television quiz show a player has alimited number of times that they can poll the studio audience regardinga correct answer.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,115 (1992; Berman et al.) discloses an interactivegame show and method for achieving interactive communication.Individuals are able to participate in the outcome of an event apossibly share in a prize award associated with the event byelectronically selecting at least one possible outcome of a plurality ofoutcomes of a future event. Specifically, individuals forming the homeaudience of a televised game show are able to electronically communicatea series of random numbers using their telephone to participate inpossibly winning the prize awards of the show. In addition, bothon-camera game participants and the studio audience also participate andhave the ability to win prizes.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,565,084 (2003; Katz et al.) disclose games and methodsfor improved game play in games of chance and games of skill. In oneaspect, a secondary or ancillary game is played in parallel with a firstgame such as a lottery ball draw. In another aspect, the game involvesthe selection of items which a player or participant believes had beenselected by an audience as not being the most popular. In yet anotheraspect, an interstitial progressive sequencing of programming isprovided such as where a series of short segments are presented atdiffering times throughout the evening of prime time programming.Audience participation may be enhanced by permitting Internet access tothe game system and to permit remote users to play along as if they werein-studio participants or part of the studio audience.

The main problem with all these prior art progressive games is that onlyone or a very few players can actually participate in the games. Thus,there is a need for a progressive type game that can be played by alarge number of players. In addition, there is also a need for aprogressive type game where the players do not have to be present at atelevision studio or other central location in order to participate inplaying a game.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The needs in the prior art are met by the present invention. In general,the present invention comprises a telephonic-interface system andrelated processes for selectively utilizing both analog (voice) anddigital telephonic communication (Internet) for game registration andparticipation. The game played may be of any of a wide variety of gameformats as to accommodate a large number of game participants who mostlikely will be remote from the site where the game is actually playedand presented via the media of television.

In one embodiment of the present invention a progressive type gamehaving a first level of game play and a second level of game play eachcomprising a plurality of rounds of game play is taught. The game isbroadcast via television and may be played by a large number of playerswho are not present at the television studio, auditorium or other sitein order to play the game. This increases the interest level in the gameand thereby creates larger viewing audiences. In addition, the playersof the game may be spread over large geographic areas. Further, viewerinterest is increased because enrolled players need no knowledge of anysubject in order to have an equal chance at winning the larger prizes.

Persons who wish to play the game enroll for play via either a telephoneor the Internet. During enrollment in one embodiment, a person submitsrequested biographical data and receives a player enrollment number thatis uniquely associated with the person. In another embodiment, aplayer's telephone number is the player's enrollment number. In stillanother embodiment, a player need not register to play. A player needonly enroll after the third round of game play by calling the studio.The player's caller ID number is the enrollment number.

The game consists of a plurality of rounds of play that are subsequentlyplayed at one time, such as during one evening, or may be played over anextended period of time. The initial three rounds of play of the gameare based on the biographical data of enrolled players, submitted at thetime of enrollment or on the player's telephone number. These threerounds are used only to narrow the number of players remaining in playfor subsequent rounds of the game and there are no prize winnings. Thereis no decision made by the players regarding continuing to playfollowing the first and second rounds of game play. If a player survivesthe initial three rounds of game play they are required to contact thegame via the telephone or the Internet and, using their unique playerenrollment number, either elect to continue to play subsequent rounds ofthe game or to drop out of the game. Players that elect to continue makea selection that is used during the fourth round of game play. Thefourth round of game play is the first round during which a survivingplayer can win a prize.

At the end of the third round of game play, and at the end of each ofthe subsequent rounds of game play, a surviving player may elect to taketheir winnings, if any, and cease playing the game. Alternatively, theymay elect to continue playing further rounds of the game and attempt towin more prizes. If a surviving player elects to continue playing thegame they make a selection that is used for the following round of gameplay to win more prizes and to further narrow the number of playersremaining in the game. Any of the rounds of game play may be played incontinuous time sequence or may be played on subsequent days or weeks.In the final round of game play a surviving player that has elected tocontinue on to the final round gambles winning a larger prize, retainingtheir accumulated winnings, or losing all their winnings.

In another embodiment of the present invention, like the previousembodiment, a progressive type game having a first level of game playand a second level of game play each comprising a plurality of rounds ofgame play is taught. The game is broadcast via television and may beplayed by a large number of players who are not present at thetelevision studio, auditorium or other site in order to play the game.This increases the interest level in the game and thereby creates largerviewing audiences. In addition, the players of the game may be spreadover large geographic areas. Further, viewer interest is increasedbecause enrolled players need no knowledge of any subject in order tohave an equal chance at winning the larger prizes.

Persons who wish to play the game simply watch the televised show asnumbers are chosen that represent telephone numbers. Each telephonenumber has ten digits which are sorted into three stages. Each stagemakes up a portion of the telephone number such as the area code (threedigits), the town/city code (three digits) and the personal number (fourdigits). The sequence of the stage numbers is not important as long asthe particular stage is associated with one of the three stages above.The persons wishing to play the game only call the television show afterthe third stage. The persons calling must have the same digits in eachstage as those chosen by the television show but need not be in the sameorder. For example, the area code digits chosen could be “603” but anycombination of those three digits can play. Thus, area codes for “360”or “630” are eligible. If a person's phone number matches the numbers ineach stage, that person calls the television show and the calleridentification feature identifies the person calling as a valid player.The television show my take all callers or the first predeterminednumber of callers having the matching phone numbers become game players.

No prizes are awarded for stages 1, 2 and 3. At the end of the thirdround of game play, the players' phone numbers are displayed and thetelevision show calls the first player. The first player continues foreach of the subsequent rounds of game play. At the end of eachsubsequent rounds of game play, a surviving player may elect to taketheir winnings, if any, and cease playing the game. Alternatively, theymay elect to continue playing further rounds of the game and attempt towin more prizes. If a surviving player elects to continue playing thegame they make a selection that is used for the following round of gameplay to win more prizes and to further narrow the number of playersremaining in the game. Any of the rounds of game play may be played incontinuous time sequence or may be played on subsequent days or weeks.In the final round of game play a surviving player that has elected tocontinue on to the final round gambles winning a larger prize, retainingtheir accumulated winnings, or losing all their winnings. When the firstplayer is finished, the second qualifying player is then called by thetelevision show and the second player plays the game in much the sameway as the first player.

However, in alternative embodiments of the invention a single round ofgame play may be utilized.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B show a block diagram showing the steps in playing oneembodiment of the game.

FIGS. 1A′ and 1B′ show a block diagram showing the steps in playinganother embodiment of the game.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show selections and prize winnings for a fourth round ofgame play.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show selections and prize winnings for a fifth round ofgame play.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show selections and prize winnings for a final round ofgame play.

FIGS. 5A through 5C show how the first three rounds of game play areplayed.

FIG. 6 is another embodiment of the present invention showing a numberselecting device.

FIG. 7 illustrates one embodiment of using a telephone number as theselection criteria for remote players.

FIG. 8 illustrates a list of remote player telephone numbers based onFIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The preferred embodiment(s) of the present invention is illustrated inFIGS. 1-8. FIGS. 1A & 1B are block diagrams showing the steps in playingone embodiment of the progressive game.

The game is broadcast via television and may be played by a large numberof players spread over a large geographic area who need not be inattendance at a television studio, auditorium or other site in order toplay the game. The game must be watched by enrolled participants inorder to progress through one or more rounds of play of the game.Enrolled players need no knowledge of any subject in order to have anequal chance at winning any of the prizes, but the game may be played ina way as to require some skill of the players. These factors increaseinterest level in the game and create a larger viewing audience. Alarger viewing audience is the goal of any television station ortelevision network.

In one embodiment of the invention the game consists of a first and asecond level of game play each comprising a plurality of rounds of gameplay that may be played in one evening or over a period of time such asdays or weeks. In the embodiment of the invention described herein thereare six rounds of game play, but fewer or more rounds of game play maybe utilized. In addition, the format of each round of game play may bechanged without departing from the teaching of the present invention.Different game formats may increase the level of knowledge required byenrolled players. The game format should be varied after some period oftime so interest game will remain high.

In FIG. 1A, the game starts at block 11 a or 11 b. In the embodiment inblock 11 a, a player contacts the game show via either a telephone orvia a website on the Internet, prior to the start of a game, to enrollin play of the game in which they can win cash or other prizes. A personmay enroll and participate in every playing of the game and this willhappen. When using the telephone to enroll in the game, a person istaken through a series of pre-recorded messages and responds to requestsfor information using the keypad of a touch tone telephone.

When entering a birth date a depressed key on the telephone indicatesthe number being entered. When a player, for example, has a birth dateof Oct. 17, 1972, and they asked during game enrollment for the month oftheir birth, they key in the number “10”. Two digits must always bekeyed in. For the month of January a player will key in “01” and for themonth of May a player will key in “05”. When the player of the exampleis asked for the day of their birth they key in “17”. Again two digitsmust always be keyed in. For the 5^(th) of a month a player will key in“05”. When requested to enter the year of their birth the player of theexample will key in “72”. Two digits must always be keyed in.

If the Internet is used to enroll in a game, a person must go to the website of the game show and select a button indicating they wish to enrollfor the next game. They will be requested to type in their birth dateand enter it by selecting a “Submit” button. If any other information isneeded for playing in the game the enrolling player will be requested toenter it.

During the enrollment process a person submits their birth date andreceives a player enrollment number that is uniquely associated with theperson. Instructions are also given to enrolled persons on how toparticipate during each round of game play.

Some people may be hesitant to provide their birth date for a variety ofreasons. In registering to play the game, via telephone of the Internet,a player will be informed that they may submit any other date theychoose for play in the game and to record the chosen date.

When a calling number is not captured by the caller identificationduring registration the player is asked to enter their phone number.When a player subsequently calls the game show to make game electionsand selections, their phone number is either captured and therebyidentifies them or, when the number is not captured, they are asked toenter the phone number.

Similarly, when a player registers to play the game via the Internetpart of the registration process is entering their phone number. Duringthe course of the game when a player contacts the game show via theInternet to make game elections and selections they again enter theirphone number to identify them. With this arrangement a player may useboth the communication modes of the telephone and the Internet during agame to register and to make game elections and selections.

At block 12 the game format of the first level of game play comprisesthree rounds of the game that are based on birth date informationsubmitted by enrolled players. Each of these three rounds of game playis used to decrease the number of players surviving to play subsequentrounds of game play.

Any other information, other than a birth or other date mayalternatively be used to play the early rounds of the game. For example,in the embodiment where a telephone is used, an area code, ageographic/regional code and a line number may be picked during thefirst three rounds of game play.

In the first round of game play for the embodiment in block 11 a, amonth is randomly selected. Only those enrolled players whose birthmonth matches the selected month survive to the second round of gameplay. Selection of a month can be done in a variety of well known ways,only one of which is shown in and described with reference to FIG. 5A.For example, if a person's birth date is Nov. 24, 1967 and the randomlyselected month is November, they will survive to play the second roundof game play. Statistically a large number of people will survive thefirst round of game play, while a large number of people will notsurvive. The number of surviving players is being narrowed down, but thenarrowing is the least by having the month first. This will keep themaximum number of people and players interested in the game. There areno winnings associated with surviving game round one.

In the second round of game play a numerical day of the month israndomly selected. Only those surviving players whose numerical day ofthe month matches the selected numerical day of the month survive to thethird round of game play. Selection of a day of the month can be done ina variety of well known ways, only one of which is shown in anddescribed with reference to FIG. 5B. Using the prior example, if therandomly selected day of the month is 24, the person, a Mr. Gomez, withthe Nov. 24, 1967 birth date survives to play the third round of gameplay. Statistically a fairly large number of people will survive thesecond round of game play, while a large number of people will notsurvive. There are no winnings associated with surviving game round two.

In the third round of game play a year is randomly selected. Only thosesurviving players whose birth year matches the selected birth yearsurvive to the fourth round of game play. Selection of a year can bedone in a variety of well known ways, only one of which is shown in anddescribed with reference to FIG. 5C. Using the prior example, if therandomly selected year is 1967, the person with the Nov. 24, 1967 birthdate survives to play the fourth round of game play. Statistically a nottoo large group of people will survive the third round of game play,while a much larger number of people will not survive. There are nowinnings associated with surviving game rounds one through three.

At block 13 the surviving players of the third round of game play, allof whose birth date matches the Nov. 24, 1967 date randomly selected ingame rounds one through three or whose telephone number matches the tendigit number of stages 1, 2 and 3 randomly selected in game rounds onethrough three, must contact the game show via telephone or the Internet.Using their unique enrollment number, or their caller ID depending onthe embodiment, to identify themselves, they may elect to drop out ofgame play and not progress to game round four of the second level ofgame play, or they may elect to continue into game round four. With thesurviving players having no winnings thus far and an excellent chance towin something, it is anticipated that all surviving players of gameround three will continue to game round four. If a surviving playerfails to contact the game show following winning in game round three,and in the allotted time before the start of game round four, they aredropped from play in the game. This mode of play will help assure thatpeople watch the game show.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention players do not elect todrop out of play for game round four, but they still contact the gameshow to make their selection for play in game round four as described inthe following paragraph. Alternatively, all game selections for allrounds of game play may be picked during registration.

After making an election to continue game play into game round four, thesurviving players make a selection that will be used for theirparticipation in game round four. In the game format described hereinthe surviving players select a block designated by a color and a numberfrom the chart shown in and described with reference to FIG. 2A. Afterthey make the selection and forward it to the game show via thetelephone and its push buttons or the Internet using a computer or otherdevice, their name appears in their chosen block on the table as shownin FIG. 2A. This process is automatic and does not require any humanintervention at the game show. If the exemplary surviving person, Mr.Gomez, elects to continue in the game and selects “White 4” his nameappears in that block as shown in FIG. 2A. Other surviving persons whoelect to continue in the game also make their selections and their namesappear in their chosen block on the table as shown in FIG. 2A. FIG. 2Ais described further in this specification. This game format does notrequire any skill on the part of the players. Other game formats, thatmay or may not require some level of skill, may be used in place of thegame format described in this paragraph.

In FIG. 2A only twelve players are shown who have the chosen birth dateof Nov. 24, 1967. This is done only for the sake of simplicity to avoidcluttering up the drawing figure. Actually, there might be a hundred ormore enrolled players whose birth date is Nov. 24, 1967.

At block 14 game round four is played. All of the players listed on thechart shown in FIG. 2A win a dollar prize associated with the block theyhave each chosen. The dollar amount indicated under each person's nameindicates the value of the monetary prize they have won. This is shownin and described with reference to FIG. 2B. In the present example, Mr.Gomez has won a prize of $50,000. Other surviving players have wonprizes of smaller amounts as seen in FIGS. 2A and 2B. In lieu of moneyprizes actual products such as a televisions set may be prizes in gameround four. All players that win prizes of $5,000 or lower areeliminated from the game. This further narrows the number of players toabout one-third the number of players that played in game round four.The $5,000 figure is arbitrary and is used to limit the number ofplayers that continue on to the next game round. The number may bechanged during game play depending on how many players survive a roundof game play.

At block 15 the surviving players of the fourth round of game play mustcontact the game show via telephone or the Internet. Using their uniqueenrollment number to identify themselves they may elect to drop out ofgame play and not progress to game round five, or they may elect tocontinue into game round five. If a surviving player fails to contactthe game show following winning in game round four, and in the allottedtime before the start of game round five, they are dropped from play inthe game. This mode of play will help assure that people watch the gameshow.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention players do not elect todrop out of play for game round five, but they still contact the gameshow to make their selection for play in game round five as described inthe following paragraph. However, there may be an election to continuein game round five although there is no election to continue in gameround four.

After making an election to continue game play into game round five, thesurviving players make an alpha-numeric selection that will be used fortheir participation in game round five. In the preferred game format ofthe invention the surviving players select a block designated by aletter and a number from the chart shown in and described with referenceto FIG. 3A. After they make the selection and forward it to the gameshow via the telephone and its push buttons or the Internet using acomputer or other device, as previously described, their name appears intheir chosen block on the table as shown in FIG. 3A. This process isautomatic and does not require any human intervention at the game show.

Before making their decision whether or not to continue in the game intogame round five, a surviving player (one having winnings in game roundfour in excess of $5,000) is warned that, unlike game round four, thereis a chance that they may lose all their winnings from game round four,there is a chance they will get no additional prize money, or they canwin additional prize money.

If the exemplary person Mr. Gomez, who won $50,000 in game round four,elects to continue in the game and selects “B 5” to participate in gameround five, his name appears in that block as shown in FIG. 3A. Othersurviving persons who elect to continue in the game also make a similarselection and their names appear in their chosen blocks on the table asshown in FIG. 3A. FIG. 3A is described further in this specification.This game format does not require any skill on the part of the players.Other game formats, that may or may not require some level of skill ofthe players, may be used in place of the game format described in thisparagraph and for other rounds of the game.

An example of an alternate game format requiring no player skill is tohave each player select a sequence of one or two digit numbers, like atelevised lottery. During play of a game in which this game format isused, and just like a televised lottery, a tumbling wire cage with ballstherein having numbers thereon is used to select numbers to select thewinner(s) of a game round.

At block 16, game round five is played. All of the players listed on thechart shown in FIG. 3A will: (a) win a dollar prize associated with theblock they have each chosen, (b) win no additional prize money asassociated with the block they have each chosen, or (c) lose all prizemoney from game round four and be out of the game. The result of eachsurviving player's alpha-numeric choice is shown in and described withreference to FIG. 3B.

As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, Mr. Gomez has won an additional prize of$10,000, giving him total winnings thus far of $60,000. Mr. Morduc haswon an additional $10,000, giving him total winnings thus far of$20,000. Both Messrs. Morduc and Gomez may elect to continue to gameround 6. Other surviving players have won additional prizes, or noprizes, or have lost all their winnings as seen in FIGS. 3A and 3B. Asmay be seen when comparing FIGS. 3A and 3B, Messrs. Yiu and Gordon winno additional prize money but they can take their winnings and they areout of the game.

At block 17, the surviving players of the fifth round of game play mustcontact the game show via telephone or the Internet. Using their uniqueenrollment number (or caller ID/telephone number; depending on theembodiment) to identify themselves they may elect to drop out of gameplay and not progress to game round six, or they may elect to continueinto game round six. If a surviving player fails to contact the gameshow following surviving game round five, and in the allotted timebefore the start of game round six, they are dropped from play in thegame. This mode of play will help assure that people watch the gameshow.

Before making their decision whether or not to continue in the game intogame round six, a surviving player is warned that, unlike game roundfive, there is a chance that they may either lose all their winningsfrom previous game rounds, or they can win additional prize money.

At block 18, game round six is played with surviving players, if any,who elect to continue on and play game round six. Assume that a playerelects to play game round 6. The odds of winning at game round 6 arelower than previous game rounds, but the prize winnings are greater. Thesurviving player is informed of the number of blocks having each amountof additional prize money, and the number of blocks under which they canlose everything.

The one player has to make an alpha-numeric selection to be used in playof game round 6. That selection is in the range of A1-A5 through E1-E5as seen in FIG. 4. Assume that the one player selects block B-3. BlockB-3 is then exposed showing that the one player has won an additional$100,000. The one player takes a gamble of losing all because there is agood chance that they could select a box indicating that they lose allaccumulated prize winnings.

At block 19, prize winnings are distributed to players who have retainedtheir prize winnings and the game is over.

In FIG. 2A, there is shown the player selection matrix for the fourthround of each game. In one embodiment, players whose birth date isselected in the first through third game rounds must contact the gameshow to first indicate that they wish to continue to play into thefourth round of the game. With these players having no winnings thus farand an excellent chance to win something, it is anticipated that allsurviving players of game round three, whose birth day has beenselected, will continue to game round four. In the alternativeembodiment using a player's telephone number, players whose ten-digittelephone number selected in the first through third game rounds mustcontact the game show to continue to play into the fourth round of thegame. In either embodiment, if they elect to continue to play they mustcontact the game show using a touch tone telephone or via the Internetusing a computer or other device and indicate their wish to continueinto game round four, as previously described. At the same time theymust select a block in the matrix shown in FIG. 2A that indicates acolor and a number that is used in the play of the fourth game round.After a player's selection is forward to the game show, their nameappears in their chosen block in the matrix as shown in FIG. 2A. Thisprocess is automatic and does not require any human intervention at thegame show.

In FIG. 2A are listed a number of exemplary surviving persons whosebirth day has been selected and who have selected the blocks in whichtheir last name appears for game round 4. Mr. Gomez has selected “White4” his name appears in that block as shown in FIG. 2A. The othersurviving persons in the game also make their selections and their namesappear in their chosen block on the table as shown in FIG. 2A. As shownMr. Charles has selected White 0, Mt. Smith has selected White 1, Mr.Gordon has selected White 6, Mr. Gomez has selected Red 4, Ms. Fitz hasselected Blue 9, Mr. Morduc has selected Yellow 8, Mr. Faen has selectedBlack 5, Mr. Borden has selected Green 0, Mrs. Reardon has selectedGreen 2, Mr. Yiu has selected Pink 7, Mrs. Gilbear has selected Brown 3,and Mr. Bills has selected Purple 8.

Associated with each block in the matrix shown in FIG. 2A is a moneyprize as shown in the corresponding matrix in FIG. 2B. The amounts areselected in a random manner prior to the start of the game. Only aftergame round four is played do the players get to know the amount of moneythey have won in game round four. On the television game show theplayers are shown their prize one at a time for heightened gamesuspense. Messrs. Reardon, Gilbear and Yiu have each won $500. Messrs.Charles, Smith and Borden have each won $1,000. Mr. Fitz has won $5,000.Messrs. Morduc and Gordon have each won $10,000. Messrs. Faen and Billshave each won $20,000. Mr. Gomez has won $30,000. The biggest prize thatcould be won in game round four is $50,000. Of these prize winners onlythose who have won more than $5,000 survive to continue on to game roundfive if they so choose. That includes only Messrs. Morduc, Gordon, Faen,Bills and Gomez. Thus, from an initial group of players that number inthe thousands only five players survive to play game round five.

At the end of game round four the surviving players Messrs. Morduc,Gordon, Faen, Bills and Gomez must each contact the game show, aspreviously described, to either indicate their election to continue inthe game to game round five, or to take their prize from game round fourand drop out of the game. In the scenario described herein all fivesurvivors elect to continue into game round five. Those who elect tocontinue into game round five must select a block in the matrix shown inFIG. 3A. After a player's block selection is forward to the game showtheir name appears in their chosen block in the matrix as shown in FIG.3A. This process is automatic and does not require any humanintervention at the game show.

Associated with each block in the matrix shown in FIG. 3A is one ofthree results. An additional money prize, no additional prize but theplayer retains their existing winnings, and the player loses theirexisting prize from game round four. These results are shown in thecorresponding blocks of the matrix shown in FIG. 3B. The results anddollar amounts are selected in a random manner prior to the start of thegame. Only after game round five is played do the players get to knowthe results. On the television game show the players are shown theresult of their block selection one at a time for heightened suspense.In the example being described, Mr. Faen loses the $20,000 he won ingame round four and exits the game with no prizes. Mr. Gomez wins anadditional $10,000, making his prizes a total of $40,000. Mr. Morducwins an additional $10,000 making his prizes a total of $20,000. Mr.Gordon wins no additional prize but exits the game with his prize of$10,000 from game round four. Mr. Bills wins no additional prize butexits the game with his prize of $10,000 from game round four. Thebiggest prize that could be won in game round five is $100,000. Thus,only Messrs. Gomez and Morduc survive to decide if they want to on togame round six.

After game round five the surviving players Messrs. Gomez and Morducmust each contact the game show, as previously described, to eitherindicate their election to continue in the game to game round six, or totake their accumulated prizes after game round five and drop out of thegame. In the scenario described herein, Mr. Gomez elects to continueinto game round six and Mr. Morduc elects to take his prizes and exitfrom the game. The odds of winning at game round six are lower thanprevious game rounds, but the prize winnings are greater. The survivingplayer is informed of the number of blocks having each amount ofadditional prize money, and the number of blocks under which they canlose everything. Those who elect to continue into game round six mustselect a block in the matrix shown in FIG. 4, and Mr. Gomez selectsblock B3. After a player's block selection is forward to the game showtheir name appears in their chosen block in the matrix as shown in FIG.4A. This process is automatic and does not require any humanintervention at the game show. The player, Mr. Gomez, takes a gamble oflosing all because there is a good chance that they could select a boxindicating that they lose all accumulated prize winnings.

As game round play six is played Mr. Gomez is found to have won anadditional $100,000, as shown in FIG. 4B, making a total of $140,000.The largest prize that could have been won in game round six is$250,000. The game is over.

In an alternative embodiment of the game players do not risk losing allaccumulated prizes in the sixth round of the game based on the selectionof a block in the matrix of FIG. 4A. Rather, they may select a portionof their accumulated winnings to play in the final round of the game toeither win an additional larger prize or to lose the selected portion.The size of the prizes in this alternative final round of game playshould be large enough to make the risk of losing the player selectedportion of prize winnings an acceptable risk, and the size of thepotential prize winnings in the alternative final round of game playwill vary depending on the size of the player selected prize portionplayed in the final round of game play.

In FIG. 5A is shown a game wheel of the spinning type, such as used onpopular television game shows such as “Wheel of Fortune”. In theembodiment described herein such a game wheel is used for the firstthree rounds of game play to select a birth date. The wheel of FIG. 5Ais spun by someone on the game show on television and when the wheelstops a fixed indicator points to the numerical day of a month of abirth date that is being randomly selected.

In FIG. 5B is shown another game wheel that is spun by someone on thegame show on television and when the wheel stops a fixed indicatorpoints to a month of the birth date being randomly selected.

In FIG. 5C is shown another game wheel that is spun by someone on thegame show on television and when the wheel stops a fixed indicatorpoints to a year for the birth date being randomly selected.

As previously described, the birth date randomly selected by thespinning wheels in FIGS. 5A-5C is used to thin the number of players inthe game and only those players having the randomly selected birth datemay continue to play further game rounds.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention actual spinning gamewheels may be replaced by other means such as, but not limited to, anelectronic version thereof displayed on a video monitor. In addition,other random selection means maybe use such as wire drums with ballshaving dates, years or the names of months thereon. After some rotationof the drums to thoroughly mix the balls a ball is allowed to exit thedrum to read the information printed on it. Such drums are widely usedin lotteries that are broadcast via television.

In another embodiment of the game illustrated in FIGS. 1A′ and 1B′, aplayer watches the television show to play the game in block 12′. Tominimize the number of calls, it is preferred that stages 1-3 of thegame are played before the players call into the game. When a qualifyingcaller (one having a telephone number that contains the correct numbersof each of the three stages or rounds) calls the television show in Step13′, the caller identification feature of the telephone system capturesthe phone number from which the enrolling player calls from, confirms amatch to the selected numbers in the first three stages and the phonenumber is then displayed on a monitor representing the calling order ofthe qualifying caller.

Thereafter, the television show selects the first qualifying callerhaving the first qualifying telephone number to obtain elections tocontinue to play and selections within rounds of a game as shown inblock 14′. The first qualifying caller continues to play the gamethrough each successive round in block 15′ to block 18′. The play inrounds 4 through 6 is similar to that illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1Bexcept that one player plays all of the rounds before the nextqualifying player plays the game. The player typically has the option ofplaying beyond round 4 or to take the player's winnings and leaving thegame. When the first qualifying caller finishes playing the game eitherby being eliminated, leaving the game early or winning, the televisionshow then calls the next qualifying caller in the list in block 21′ andthe game continues with the second qualifying caller until the secondqualifying caller is eliminated, withdraws or wins game round 6. Thegame continues until all of the qualifying callers have played the game.The difference between this embodiment and the previously discussedembodiment is that a qualifying caller plays all rounds of the gamebefore the next qualifying player plays the game.

The television show may limit the number of qualifying callers to thefirst five callers or such other number desired. The television show mayalso include other limitations to qualifying such as every tenth calleruntil they have five players or some other qualifying limitations inaddition to matching the ten digit randomly chosen number.

In the telephone number embodiment, the first round of game play (stage1) three numbers between zero to nine are randomly selected. Selectionof the first three digits can be done in a variety of well known ways,only one of which is shown in and described with reference to FIG. 6. Asshown in FIG. 6, a large wheel 50 with a plurality of pegs 52, which arecircumferentially positioned and equally spaced from each other aroundwheel 50, extend from the plane of wheel 50. The plurality of pegs 52engage with pointer 54 as wheel 50 is spun by either an in-studiocontestant or the master of ceremonies. When wheel 50 stops, the numberbeneath pointer 54 is the first number of stage 1 play. This sameprocess is performed for the remaining two numbers in stage 1 and shownas reference number 60 in FIG. 7. Any embodiment of the number selectionprocess may be used to qualify players.

As shown in FIG. 8, only those players (shown as reference number 70)whose fourth through sixth digits of their telephone number, i.e, thenarrower geographic code, match the randomly selected numbers survive tothe second round of game play. The order of the three digits is notimportant so long as the player's fourth through sixth digits representsone combination of the randomly selected three digits of the first roundof play. For example, if a person's telephone number is 603-621-4304 andthe randomly selected three-digit number is 216, they will survive toplay the second round of game play. Statistically a large number ofpeople will survive the first round of game play, while a large numberof people will not survive. The number of surviving players is beingnarrowed down, but the narrowing is the least by having thegeographic/regional numbers first. This will keep the maximum number ofpeople and players interested in the game. There are no winningsassociated with surviving game round one.

In the second round of game play in this embodiment, a four digit number(stage 2; shown as reference number 62 in FIG. 7) is randomly selected.Only those surviving players whose four digit line number matches in anyorder the selected four digit number survive to the third round of gameplay. Continuing with the prior example, if the randomly selected fourdigit number is 4304, the person whose telephone number contains a linenumber having each of the four digits such as, for example, 4403survives to play the third round of game play. Statistically a fairlylarge number of people will survive the second round of game play, whilea large number of people will not survive. There are no winningsassociated with surviving game round two.

In the third round of game play (stage 3; shown as reference number 64in FIG. 7) using the caller ID number/telephone number, a three-digitnumber is randomly selected. In this particular example, the area codeis used for stage 3. It should be noted, however, that any one of thethree stages of the telephone number groupings may be used as the first,second or third stage. Only those surviving players whose area codematches the selected three-digit number survive to the fourth round ofgame play. Continuing with the prior example, if the randomly selectedthree digit number is 306, the person with the caller IDnumber/telephone number having an area code such as 603 that matches thethree digit number survives to play the fourth round of game play.Statistically a not too large group of people will survive the thirdround of game play, while a much larger number of people will notsurvive. There are no winnings associated with surviving game rounds onethrough three.

After making an election to continue game play into game round four, thefirst qualifying player makes a selection that will be used for his/herparticipation in game round four. In the caller ID embodiment, theremaining game rounds may be played in similar fashion as previouslydescribed except that the preferred method is to progress through eachsuccessive round with the first qualifying player before the nextqualifying player plays game round four and the following rounds. Itshould be understood, however, that all of the qualifying players mayplay each round as in the previously described embodiment instead ofonly one player at a time or play multiple rounds before the nextqualifying player plays round four and the following rounds.

While what has been described above is the preferred embodiment of thenovel game, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that manychanges may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

For example, instead of using player's birth dates to narrow down thenumber of players in early game rounds, the early game round selectionscould be player's first, middle and last name initials, followed by theidentity of a town/city, and street, and even a state. The possible gameformat possibilities are extensive for the early rounds of game play.

To create a more interactive lottery game type format, duringregistration enrolling players could be required to pay a fee that isplaced in a winnings pot. The money in the pot can be used to pay thewinner(s) of the game and some registration fees can be used for schoolsor other notable purposes.

For a further example, fewer or more rounds of game play may be involvedin a play of the game. Further, other than money prizes may be won. Thegame format at different rounds of game play may be different. The boxselection format, which requires no player skill, may be replaced at anyround of game play with a game format that requires some level of playerskill. For example, a player may be required to call the game show andanswer a question.

Still further, the sixth and final game round need not be played at theend of each play of the game. The surviving players of game round fivefrom a number of games, and who elect to continue to game round six, maybe brought together and a “super” game round six played with them all.

In yet another alternative embodiment of the invention, game playersremote to a television studio or auditorium where the game will beplayed will remotely register to play the game. The game may consist ofany type of game, with or without multiple rounds of game play.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed herein, the above description is merely illustrative. Furthermodification of the invention herein disclosed will occur to thoseskilled in the respective arts and all such modifications are deemed tobe within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

1. A method of playing a television game that has a number of rounds ofgame play, the method comprising the steps of: playing a first level ofgame play comprising a first plurality of rounds of the game, the firstplurality of rounds comprising a first stage, a second stage and a thirdstage wherein each stage is assigned one of a telephone number's areacode, narrower geographic code or line number, each of the firstplurality of game rounds narrowing the number of remote playersremaining in the game based on the remote players' telephone numbers;playing a second level of game play comprising a plurality of playerscalling the television game wherein each of the plurality of players hasa caller identification number that qualifies each of the plurality ofplayers from the first level of game play and a second plurality ofrounds of the game, each of the second plurality of game roundsnarrowing the number of players remaining in the game, each of thesecond plurality of game rounds having risk regarding winning prizes;and determining whether each player remaining in the game after each ofthe second plurality of rounds of the game has elected to play the nextround of the second plurality of game rounds or to exit the game withtheir accumulated prizes.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the remoteplayers are geographically diverse.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein theplayers register to play the game and indicate their election tocontinue to play in the game after each of the first plurality of roundsof the game using a communication channel.
 4. The method of claim 3wherein a player's telephone number is a unique identifier code toidentify them when they indicate their election to continue to play inthe game after the first level of game play.
 5. The method of claim 4further comprising the step of receiving game selections from eachplayer remaining in the game following each round of the secondplurality of rounds, the selection being used for playing in the nextround of the game.
 6. The method of claim 5 wherein each stage of thefirst level of game play is prize-less.
 7. The method of claim 1 whereina player's telephone number is a unique identifier code to identify themwhen they indicate their election to continue to play in the game aftereach of the second plurality of rounds.
 8. The method of claim 7 whereinthe players register to play the game and indicate their election tocontinue to play in the game after each of the second plurality ofrounds of the game using a communication channel.
 9. The method of claim8 further comprising the step of receiving game selections from eachplayer remaining in the game following each round of the second level ofgame play, the selection being used for playing in the next round of thegame.
 10. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of receivinggame selections from each player remaining in the game following eachround of the second level of the game, the selection being used forplaying in the next round of the game.
 11. The method of claim 10wherein when each player registers to play the game they each receive aunique identifier code to identify them when they indicate theirelection to continue to play in the game after each of the secondplurality of rounds.
 12. The method of claim 11 wherein each stage ofthe first level of game play is prize-less.